Feb. 27, 2011--In town for the
National Governors Association Winter
Meeting, Gov. Chris Christie appeared on CBS News' "Face the Nation."

Christie has
forcefully ruled out
a presidential run in 2012. Back in March 2010 he stated:

"I have absolutely no interest in
running for
president of the United States. None. Zero interest. Zero. None. Close
the door. No chance. No way. Under no circumstances. I don’t know any
other way I could put it. No hope, don’t try to talk me into it,
nothing. Forget it. I’m staying here.”

Seems clear enough, but in October 2010 Donald Sico launched a Draft Christie for President
website. On Nov. 4, 2010 Christie said that, "Short of suicide, I
don't really know
what I'd have to do to convince you people that I'm not running. I'm
not running!"

Christie is seen as a conservative rock star and is very popular
prospect among
Tea Party activists. He did not appear at the recent Conservative
Political Action Conference, but finished fourth in the CPAC straw
poll with 6%. Christie also happens to be the subject of the
cover story of today's New York
Times Magazine ("The Disrupter"). (+)

Host Bob Schieffer questioned Christie about Wisconsin Gov. Scott
Walker (R)'s recent efforts to end collective bargaining rights of many
public sector employees to address his state's budget deficit.
Christie said this is a state by state issue,
and he supports "fair and reasonable collective bargaining."

"We can't have what we've had
before.
You know, Bob, public sector workers, state workers in New Jersey this
past year were working under a contract from my predecessor Jon
Corzine, got 7-percent salary increases in a 0-percent inflation
world. I don't think the people who are paying the bills think
that's
the result of fair and reasonable collective bargaining. They
want
someone in the room representing the taxpayers and that's what I'll be
this June when the contract expires."

More generally Christie said that in New Jersey he is seeking "to
reform the pension
system, to roll back expensive health benefits for public sector
workers to put them more in line with the rest of the population in New
Jersey, to put us on a long term path to fiscal stability."

Schieffer also asked Christie about his strong stance against the
teachers' unions. Christie said, "The teachers in New Jersey
deserve a
union as good as they are, and they don't have it."

"What I'm trying to do is set up
a
merit-based system for teachers so that great ones get rewarded and
paid more and that the really great ones want to stay in the
profession, not only because they love it, but because they're also
rewarded financially for it. The union, Bob, they protect the
worst of
the worst. That's what they're there for. They make it
impossible to
fire bad teachers, and its ruining our education system."

Finally, Schieffer asked Christie about his recent remarks at the
American
Enterprise Institute, where he said "you're going to have to raise the
retirement age on Social Security." Christie stated:

"You know and I know that the
overwhelming majority of the problem on the federal level comes down to
three programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And
unless we go about tackling those three issues all the rest of the
things the President's talking about and others on Capitol Hill are
talking about are minor league issues."